Rotary engine.



PATENTED JANQ7, 1908.

R. H. HIGGINBOTHAM. ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 20, 1907.

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No. 876,184. PATENTED JAN; 7, 1908. R. H. HIGGINBOTHAM.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILEDIEB. 20. 1907.

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ROTARY ENGINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 7, 1908.

Application filed February 20, 1907- seliibl 358342- T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT H. HIGGIN- BOTHAM, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Village Springs, in the county of- Blount and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Rotary Engine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to engines of the type employing rotary or revolving pistons, and the principal object is to provide a novel, simple and effective engine which can be driven by steam, air, gas, water or other motive fluid, is readily reversible, so that it will operate with equal efficiency in either direction, and is compact so that it will occupy but little space.

The referred embodiment of the invention is i lustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the engine. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view therethrough. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal sectional view. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of construction. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through the same.

Similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the embodiment illustrated, a casing 4 is employed, which is preferably sectional in its character, and is provided with two circular intersecting channels 5. These channels in the present embodiment, are circular in cross section, but they may be square or of any desired shape, so far as cross sectional configuration is concerned. The channels 5 constitute piston chambers, and a web 6 is formed or defined between their intersecting portions. This web is provided with crossed or communicating vent ports 7, which extend from one channel to the other, and preferably have a common meeting compartment 8, though this is not absolutely necessary. The engine casing 4 furthermore is provided with support or disk receiving chambers 9, one of the disk receiving chambers being lo cated on one side of one of the piston chambers or channels 5, while the other support or disk receiving chamber is located on the opposite side of the other piston chamber or channel, all of which will be evident by reference to Fig. 3.

Shafts 10 pass through the casing, and are disposed concentrically to the piston channels or chambers 5, and their coacting disk receiving chambers 9. Any suitable bearings for the shafts may be employed but in the present embodiment, brasses 11 are located in the casing walls, and collars 12 are fixed to the shafts outside the brasses by means of set screws 13. These collars serve to prevent the spreading of the casing walls due to the expansive force of the steam or other motive fluid employed. Supports in the form of disks 1 1 are fixed to the shafts,

' and are respectively located in the different disk receiving chambers 9. These disks carry at their peripheries curved semi-circular pistons 15, and it will be evident by reference to Fig. 3 that the pistons are offset from the opposing sides of the disks and respectively operate in the intersecting piston chambers or channels 5. The pistons 15 correspond in cross sectional contour to the shape of the channels 5 and these pistons are preferably tubular in form, having longitudinal bores 16, which are closed by end plugs 17, the outer ends of which constitute the operating faces of the pistons.

A steam or other motive fluid supply pipe 18 is connected to a valve casing 18 and branches 19 lead from said casing to combined supply and exhaust ports 20. These ports have branches 21 that communicate with the channels 5 at or contiguous to their points of intersection. An exhaust pipe 21 leads from the casing 18*. A valve 22 controls the supply and exhaust of motive fluid through either branch 19, as will be evident.

If a compound engine is desired, the structure is modified, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 by employing pipes 23 which communicate with the channels 5 contiguous to their points of intersection, and these pipes may be connected to another engine for the purpose of compounding and securing the full force of the steam or expansive motive fluid. Suitable packing rings of any desired character are shown at 24, and serve to prevent the leakage of motive fluid past the pistons, while other packing rings 25, located in the casing walls on opposite sides of the supporting disks 1 L, prevent leakage of the motive fluid to the shafts and the escape of such fluid at the bearings.

The operation of the structure may be briefly described as follows. Motive fluid from any suitable source is supplied through the pipe 18. If therefore the valve 22 is turned in one direction, this motive fluid can enter through one of the branches 19 and port branches 2] and will pass behind one of the pistons, while the other branch 21 is cut .shown at 26.

off. As a result, said piston will be rotated in its channel 5, and this rotation will effect the rotation of one of the shafts 10, and the synchronous rotation of the other shaft, inasmuch as said shafts are geared together, as As soon as the front end of the operative piston reaches the intersecting point of the channels at which the motive fluid is being delivered, the rear end of the other piston passes said point, and consequently the motive fluid Will now operate behind the second piston, while the first mentioned piston will cut off the supply through the channel in which it operates. The steam or motive fluid at the same time is exhausting through the opposite branch pipe '19 and through the pipe 21 If, however, the pipes 23 are employed and a corresponding engine is connected to said pipes, it will be evident that a compound engine will be produced. In such case, the pipe 21 is dispensed with, and the valve 22 correspondingly altered. As many of said engines may be employed as is found desirable, and all are preferably connected to the same shafts 10. It will be observed by reference to Fig. 2 that the portions of the channels 5 on opposite sides of the web 6, will be entirely inclosed, and unless the vent ports 7 were provided, compression would be produced in one, while there Would be a partial vacuum in the other. To relieve this compression and vacuum, the ports 7 are employed, whereby the motive fluid can flow freely from one channel to the other. To reverse the engine, it is only necessary to reverse the valve 22, whereupon the motive fluid will operate in an opposite direction against the pistons, and a reverse movement will thereby be secured.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. It will be evident that While the invention as above described, is particularly useful as a motor or engine, it can be as readily employed as a pump, in which case, of course the power must be applied to the shafts to rotate the same.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having side walls and a plurality of intersecting pi'ston chambers, of a web located between the intersecting portions of the chambers and carried by the side walls, shafts passing through the casing and respectively disposed concentrically to the differ ent chambers, supports fixed to the shafts and disposed on opposite sides of the chambers, and pistons carried by the supports and offset from the opposing sides of the same, said pistons operating in the said piston chambers.

2. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having piston chambers and associated disk receiving chambers, one of the disk receiving chambers being located on one side of one of the piston chambers, the other disk receiving chamber being located on the other side of the other piston chamber, said piston chambers having spaced intersecting portions, of a web located between the intersecting portions of the piston chambers, shafts passing through the casing and disposed concentrically to the different chambers, disks secured to the shafts and located respectively in the disk receiving chambers, curved pistons carried by the disks and ofiset from the opposing sides of the same, said pistons operating respectively in the associated piston chambers, and means for insuring a synchronous rotation of the shafts.

3. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having intersecting piston chambers, of means for supplying motive fluid to and exhausting it from the chambers, curved pistons operating in the chambers, and means for effecting a synchronous rotation of the pistons, said pistons being circular in cross section and having closure plugs threaded into their ends.

4. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having substantially circular intersecting channels constituting piston chambers, of a web defined between the intersecting portions of the chambers and having a vent port therethrough extending from one channel to the other, pistons operating in said channels, and means for supplyingmotive fluid to and exhausting it from said channels in rear of the pistons.

5. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having substantially circular intersecting channels constituting piston chambers, of a web defined between the intersecting portions of the chambers and having oppositely extending vent ports extending from one channel to the other, pistons operating in the said channels, means for insuring a synchronous rotation of the pistons, and means for supplying motive fluid to and exhausting it from the channels at or contiguous to their points of intersection.

6. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casing having a plurality of circular intersecting channels constituting piston chambers, and a plurality of associated disk receiving chambers, one of the disk-receiving chambers being located at one side of one of the circular channels, and the other disk receiving chamber being located at the other side of the other circular channel, of a Web defined between the intersecting portions of I and means for supplying motive fluid to and the channels and having crossed Vent ports exhausting it from the channels at or contherethrough extending from one channel to tiguous to their points ol intersection. the other, shafts extending through the eas- In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as 5 ing concentrically to the channels and cham- I my own, I have hereto allixed my signature l5 hers, disks secured to the shafts and located in the presence 01 two witnesses.

respectively in the disk receiving chambers, ROBERT H. HIGGINBOTHAM. curved pistons carried by the disks and ofl'set WVitnesscs: from their opposing faces, said pistons oper- JonN ll. SIGGERS,

10 ating respectively in the different channels, B. G. Fos'rmn. 

